Multi-Adsorbent Preconcentration/Focusing Module for Portable-GC/Microsensor-Array Analysis of Complex Vapor Mixtures

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lu CJ ; Zellers ET
• Description:
  A small multi-adsorbent preconcentration/focusing module for a portable GC with microsensor-array detector designed to determine complex mixtures of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds encountered in indoor working environments is described. Candidate adsorbents were assessed on the basis of analyte thermal-desorption bandwidth and efficiency, chromatographic peak shape, and breakthrough volume against mixtures of organic compounds ranging over four orders of magnitude in vapor pressure. A capillary packed with just 12.3 mg of adsorbent material comprising Carbopack B (8 mg), Carbopack X (2.5 mg) and Carboxen 1000 (1.8 mg) provided the best tradeoff in operating variables, while maintaining sufficient capacity for a 1 L air sample containing a mixture of up to 43 compounds, each at 100 parts-per-billion, at an ambient relative humidity of up to 100%. On-column focusing and temperature programming were used to enhance chromatographic separations, and detection limits as low as 100 parts-per-trillion were achieved for a 1 L air sample using an integrated array of polymer-coated surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) sensors. Implications for field analysis of indoor air quality are emphasized. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Monitoring Occupational Health Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  Air-quality Air-quality-control Air-quality-measurement Air-quality-monitoring Gas-chromatography Gases Organic-chemicals Organic-compounds Organic-vapors Vapors
• ISSN:
  0003-2654
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  127
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20029558
• Citation:
  Analyst 2002 Aug; 127(8):1061-1068
• Contact Point Address:
  Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19980930
• Source Full Name:
  Analyst
• End Date:
  20060531
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9e8a70cfb8aa77862b26c9a8669b0c9c95b8199ab69a9953b3a52753fc5259551bd972fda512dd7ce20e347a89abfd392c5680eb41897c67991538ac60ed61e1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/190512/cdc_190512_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 439.33 KB ]